Connecting
man to man to God
For
week of September 13, 2009
Issue 269
The
Men’s Ministry newsletter of Path Of Life Ministries.
Our
mission is to lead men to Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for
Christian men to grow in their faith and minister to others.
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“Can
anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’
declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah
23:24
CONSIDER
“Hope
is not wishful thinking, nor fanciful imagination. Hope is the
realism of the man of faith who knows that there is a line of
meaningful development from the past, through the present, into
the future. Hopelessness is the true condition of hell.”
Joshua Haberman
A
JESUS MANIFESTO
This
Facebook page exists for those who wish to express their agreement
with "A Jesus Manifesto" by Leonard Sweet and Frank
Viola. It’s also designed to connect them with one another
as well as to update them on events and resources related to the
document. By joining this group, you are stating that you stand
with the Manifesto.
Magna Carta for Restoring the
Supremacy of Jesus Christ
a.k.a.
A Jesus Manifesto for the
21st Century Church
by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola
Christians have made the gospel about so many things …
things other than Christ.
Jesus Christ is the
gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them
significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose
their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces
floating around in space.
It is possible to emphasize a
spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who
is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values,
virtues, and gifts.
Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a
spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.
Seek
Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who
is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts
in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ,
in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable.... Read
this in full at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=141697503128
http://ajesusmanifesto.wordpress.com/
Hear
an audio version of the manifesto at
http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/FeedEnclosure/georgefox.edu.1952351666.01952351672.2275088126/enclosure.mp3
LIVE
A COMPELLING LIFE
“Perhaps
one of the best ways to engage our culture is to do the hard work
necessary to cooperate fully with God to develop a compelling
life. Bono isn't a compelling figure just because he's a rock
star; he's compelling because he's a rock star *who has something
to say.*
“What defines a compelling life? Someone
who is available to God and regularly experiences God's
fellowship, presence, and empowerment. There are no substitutes,
no shortcuts. We are not compelling; on the contrary, we are
sinful, often poor imitations of our Lord. But when God lives
through us, shines through us, and overcomes our worst
inclinations with his merciful transformation -- that's
compelling. People become interested not so much in us but in
what's so different about us. The non-Christian notices the
changes as we become more and more like Christ -- if indeed we are
experiencing more and more of Christ.” from Holy Available:
What If Holiness Is about More Than What We Don't Do? by Gary
Thomas
PRIORITIES
“Jesus
did not finish all the urgent tasks in Palestine or all the things
He would have liked to do, but He did finish the work which Gad
gave Him to do. The only alternative to frustration is to be sure
that we are doing what God wants. Nothing substitutes for knowing
that this day, this hour, in this place, we are doing the will of
the Father. Then and only then can we think of all the other
unfinished tasks with equanimity and leave them with God.”
Charles E. Hummel (1923-2004), The Tyranny of the Urgent, Chicago:
Inter-Varsity Press, 1967
SUMMER'S
OVER, FOLKS. GET BACK TO CHURCH.
Autumn
brings the end of beach weekends, boating and picnics and the
resurgence of school, football ... and church. In an effort to
refocus the attention of parishioners and possibly attract
newcomers and the disaffected, many churches borrow a page from
universities and designate a Sunday in September as a
"homecoming." Although the idea reaches back a couple of
centuries for some parishes, it is taking on a more organized feel
in the US and Britain.
This year, the Christian
communications organization Outreach Inc., based in Vista, Calif.,
started a campaign declaring Sept. 13 as "Back to Church
Sunday," and offering a free toolkit that includes a
"campaign planning guide," promotional materials and a
booklet titled "Rethink Church."
According to
Outreach's website, the campaign is "specifically designed to
increase church attendance by empowering church members with the
tools they need to welcome neighbors, friends, and loved ones back
to church." .... Read this in full at
http://newsok.com/summers-over-folks.-get-back-to-church./article/feed/76157
WHAT
IF THINGS ONLY GET WORSE?
by Max
Lucado
Christ tells us that they will. He predicts spiritual
bailouts, ecological turmoil, and worldwide persecution. Yet in
the midst of it all, he contends bravery is still an option.
(Matt. 24:4-14)
Things are going to get bad, really
bad, before they get better. And when conditions worsen, "See
to it that you are not alarmed" (Matt. 24:6 NIV). Jesus chose
a stout term for alarmed that he used on no other occasion. It
means "to wail, to cry aloud," as if Jesus counseled the
disciples, "Don't freak out when bad stuff happens."
.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianity.com/devotionals/article/11608049/
FOCUS
ON THE FAMILY ANNOUNCES MORE LAYOFFS
Focus on
the Family announced a reorganization Sept. 2 that will eliminate
75 jobs -- an 8% reduction in a workforce that already has been
cut twice since September 2008. The Colorado Springs, CO-based
ministry is shutting down the creative division of its advertising
department, accounting for 30 of the layoffs. The others are from
various departments throughout the ministry, including Love Won
Out, a program aimed at homosexuals that Focus is handing over to
an organization in Florida.... Read this in full at
http://www.gazette.com/articles/today-61251-announce-focus.html
CHRISTIAN
COUPLES SHARE eMAIL ADDRESSES TO STAY FAITHFUL
Christian
couples around the country share one email account as a safeguard
against the ever-expanding temptations of the Internet. “There's
not a Gestapo, KGB quality to it, like I have to check in with
mother before I do anything," said Lance Maggiacomo, a
40-year-old surgical nurse from Massachusetts. "It's what we
believe as Christians: We are our brothers' keepers. It's about
biblical accountability."
The email addresses --
"tim_shawna" and "christyandbrian" --
broadcast the couples' commitment to all correspondents. If one
spouse has a Twitter or Facebook account, the other is usually
given the password. Often, spouses have separate work accounts
where bad behavior could go undetected. However, the goal isn't
policing each other every minute, they say. Instead, they are
doing whatever is possible to avoid keeping secrets.... Read this
in full at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-09-08-christian-email_N.htm
DON'T
EVER GIVE UP
“Jim
Valvano realized that life is simply too short to waste it in
anger. Even when his body was wracked with pain, he felt a great
need to enjoy each moment. At the end of his final speech, he
thanked ESPN for helping him to set up the Jimmy V. Foundation for
Cancer Research. He explained that the motto of the organization
would be, ‘Don't give up; don't ever give up.’
“Then
he added, ‘And that's what I'm going to try to do every
minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the
moment I have. I'm going to work as hard as I can for cancer
research, and hopefully, maybe, we'll have some cures and some
breakthroughs.... I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again:
Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my
mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And
those three things are going to carry on forever.’
“A
few weeks after he accepted the Courage Award, Jim Valvano died.
Yet his positive message lives on. In fact, the organization he
started for cancer research developed treatments that have saved
thousands of lives, including that of Jim's own daughter Jamie.”
From Sticks and Stones: Using Your Words as a Positive Force by
Ace Collins
SCHOOLS
SHOULD TEACH CHRISTIANITY'S ROLE IN US HISTORY, SAY EVANGELICALS
Teaching
the importance of Christianity in US history is common sense,
asserted several evangelical leaders in defending a new Texas law
that requires public schools to incorporate Bible literacy into
the curriculum.. Americans can disagree on a personal level with
what Christianity claims to be true, wrote Jim Daly, president of
Focus on the Family, but they “cannot question” the
“central importance” of those Christian truths to the
men who help founded the nation.
“Understand
America’s history without any reference to her Christian
heritage? You might as well try to tell the story of Huck Finn
without mentioning the Mississippi River,” Daly wrote in a
column posted in The Washington Post. Daly was among several
prominent evangelical figures who participated in the “On
Faith” opinion blog in The Washington Post to discuss the
question “Should public schools teach religion?”
This fall, K-12 public schools in Texas are cobbling
together new curriculums that incorporate the Bible after a state
law passed in 2007 made it a requirement.... Read this in full at
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090907/texas-schools-should-teach-religion-as-u-s-history-say-evangelicals/index.html
EVANGELICALISM
THE BEST OPTION
by C.
Michael Patton
Evangelicalism is not perfect. No informed
person should make such a claim. Evangelicalism has its problems
-- big problems. This is nothing new. Yet I believe the
strengths outweigh the weaknesses and make evangelicalism a better
option than any other tradition.
While I often write about
the weaknesses of evangelicalism, sometimes complaining about our
shames and blind spots, I want to do something different here. I
am going to give a short list of what I believe to be the major
strengths of evangelicalism and why I believe evangelicalism is
still the best option: .... Read this in full at
http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Evangelicalism-the-Best-Option.html
AUTHOR
WRITES ON CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM IN SERIES
J.K.
Rowling’s uber-popular “Harry Potter” series has
long conjured up controversy among Christians, with the loudest
critics decrying the books as a dangerous gateway into the occult
and other practices considered evil. Other Christians view the
young wizard’s tales as harmless entertainment, even morally
beneficial. But Denise Roper belongs to a growing group of
believers who view Potter as not just harmless, but rife with
Christian themes and obvious parallels to the story of Christ.
After the last Potter book, “you’d have to be blind
not to see it,” Roper said. The local band director and
fantasy-fiction fan hopes to help others see both the overt and
subtle Christian elements of the hit series with her book, “The
Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J.K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter.” .... Read this in full at
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20090909/ARTICLES/909099926/1008?Title=Woman-writes-on-Christian-symbolism-in-series
HOW
MUCH SAY SHOULD PARENTS HAVE OVER THEIR CHILDREN'S FAITH?
Two
Christian girls. Two sets of distraught parents. And two state
courts smack in the middle of it. One of these courts is in New
Hampshire, where a judge recently ordered that home-schooled
Amanda Kurowski be sent to public school. The order signed by
Family Court Justice Lucinda V. Sandler says the 10-year-old's
Christian faith could use some shaking up -- and that the local
public school is just the place to do it. So while the child's
lawyers at the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal outfit,
filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider, Amanda started
fifth grade at a local public school.
At about the same
time Miss Kurowski was starting school in New Hampshire, a state
court in Florida was considering what to do with 17-year-old Rifqa
Bary. Miss Bary fled to Florida from Ohio a few weeks back, where
she sought refuge with a Christian couple whose church she had
learned about on Facebook. She says she ran away from home because
her father discovered she'd become a Christian—and then
threatened to kill her. On Thursday, Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson
ordered the girl and her family to try mediation and set a
pretrial hearing for the end of the month... Read this in full at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574398963953876266.html
REAL
JOY
“The
service of the Holy Spirit is that He helps us to distinguish
pleasure from happiness and develop real joy. There are many
experiences which give us temporary pleasure but do not add up to
abiding satisfaction. Their thrills pass quickly, and sometimes
leave a trail of regret and remorse. Some of our sense pleasures
are like lightning flashes, while true joy is like the sunlight.”
Ralph Sockman
MAKING
GOD MORE ACCESSIBLE
by Mark
Pinsky
Churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples are places
where people with disabilities might not expect to feel excluded,
isolated, or patronized. Yet that has often been the norm. For
years congregations have effectively excluded the disabled from
worship -- by steps, narrow doorways and straitened attitudes --
or segregated them in "special" services. Houses of
worship (except those with more than 15 employees) were excluded
from the 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act, which, among other
things, bars discrimination against people with physical or
intellectual disabilities -- including access and architectural
barriers -- in public accommodations and transportation.... Read
this in full at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574305072612306120.html
NEW
DAN BROWN NOVEL MEANS EXTRA SCRUTINY FOR MASONS
As members
of a secretive brotherhood, Freemasons are no strangers to
conspiracy theories. They’ve heard it all before: that
they’re child-sacrificing cult members, or religious zealots
plotting a New World Order with the Jews, or satanic
anti-religious alien spies.
With Dan Brown’s newest
novel, “The Lost Symbol,” much of it centered around
Masonic myths, the Masons are in preemptive damage-control mode.
Even though Brown (of “The Da Vinci Code”
fame) and his publisher, Doubleday, are being tight-lipped about
the book’s contents, some Masons are preparing for an
onslaught of negative press. And because Brown is known for tying
religious themes to his thrillers’ plots, Masons are
carefully addressing common misconceptions about their religious
affiliations.
“There is the basic question asked: Do
you believe in God?” said Richard Fletcher, executive
secretary of the Masonic Service Association of North America.
“Beyond (requiring a belief in God), we’re not a
religion, and we don’t pretend to be.” .... Read this
in full at
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/new_dan_brown_novel_means_extra_scrutiny_for_masons2/
See
also the book Masonic Lodge by George Mather & Larry A.
Nichols
http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310704218
BEATINGS
AT THE HANDS OF ZEN MONKS
At age 30,
Kaoru Nonomura left his girlfriend, family and job to study Zen
for a year at Japan's most rigorous monastery. We Westerners often
equate Zen with "peaceful and tranquil," so that idea
probably sounds like a nice, relaxing retreat.
But, as
Nonomura writes in his memoir "Eat Sleep Sit," the year
was anything but comfortable. The monks at Eiheiji Monastery
regularly beat and berate novices who fail to follow every one of
thousands of rules that dictate everything from how monks sleep to
how they go to the bathroom.
While the title evokes
Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat Pray Love," the books
couldn't be more different. Gilbert traveled the world, indulging
her passions in search of herself; Nonomura meditated and swept
the floors in a remote monastery, where every task and teaching is
aimed at effacing the self.
You may know enough about Zen
to expect that life in the monastery is difficult and often dull,
but the level of violence in Nonomura's book is shocking.... Read
this in full at
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnsblog/eat_sleep_sit/
VERSE
TO PONDER
“The
Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the
evil one.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3
CONSIDER
“Live
near to God and all things will appear little to you in comparison
with eternal realities.”
Robert
M’Cheyne
EQUIP
YOUR SPIRIT
“When
the sinful nature ruled in us, our lives were about sin all the
way. Jesus came and woke up our inner being, our spirits, and now
that righteous spirit contradicts the sinful nature. When the
sinful nature desires to use parts of my person for sin, my spirit
contends with it. When my spirit desires to do righteousness, the
sinful nature struggles to quench the righteousness.
“There
is a war going on within me. Whichever of the two factors is
better equipped for each battle wins. So I need to equip my spirit
by constantly nurturing it by the Holy Spirit, the word of God and
prayer. I weaken the flesh by denying it the nourishment of sin
and selfish desires and indulgences. Many of the battles I will
experience are about my priorities as I shift my values from
esteeming material things and desiring human honour to desiring
things of eternal value, and supremely the knowledge of Christ.”
From The War Within: Christians and Inner Conflicts by A. C.
Chukwuocha
CONSIDER
“Some
people want to be vaccinated with a mild dose of Christianity so
as to be protected from the real thing.”
William Culbertson
VERSE
TO PONDER
“Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within
me.”
Psalm 51:10
ON PRAYER
“I
need the opportunity to free my mind of sorrow and personal
concerns; to see my world through the mirrored reflection of
holiness. I need a time of prayer to leap beyond what is limiting
in me as a person; to rediscover what is important and what is
trivial; to take counsel with what my tradition stresses as the
living faith. I need prayer.” Albert Silverman
PRAY FOR
PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS TODAY
http://christiansincrisis.net/
DAILY
BLESSING PACT
Use
the following list as your daily prayer guide. Think of a brother
or situation that applies and lift them up in prayer.
I am
agreeing in prayer with you for God’s blessings to overtake
you!
PERSONAL
Marital harmony
Family unity
Children
saved
Faithful pastor
Spirit-filled church
Real
friendships
Relatives redeemed
Educational
benefits
Recreational time
Fulfilling career
Favor with
God and man
Be in God’s will
FINANCIAL
Better
Jobs
Raises or bonuses
Benefits
Sales &
commissions
Business Growth
Settlements
Estates &
inheritances
Investment increase
Rebates &
returns
Checks in the mail
Gifts & surprises
Money to
be found
Bills decrease while blessings increase
"And
all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou
shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God" (Deut.
28:2).
[As you travel on business or vacation, let me know
if you'd like the church guys to pray for your safety and
spiritual effectiveness. I'll add your name to the list for the
time you'll be away.]
CLASSIFIEDS
Are
you looking for something or do you have something to sell? Let me
know and I'll put it in this newsletter.
Book your next
vacation with us!
Http://www.ChristianConnectionTravel.com
Books,
Music & More!
http://www.ChristianConnectionBooks.com
Get
your domain name here!
http://www.GoGlobalDomains.com
Let
me show you how to earn money as you
travel!
http://www.earnGlobalVacations.com/
It's
as easy as 1-2-3!
SHARE YOUR
FAVORITE WEBSITES
Tell us
what sites you find enjoyable and why.
Photos: The World
Beard & Moustache Championships
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1658835,00.html
Virtual
piano
http://www.thevirtualpiano.com/
Amazing
bubble makers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I4VKj4d0WI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH41itotQ8E
All
links to websites are provided as a service, and do not imply
endorsement by this ministry.
(BTW: whenever the URLs in
this newsletter are too long to turn into links on your e-mail
program, just copy the entire URL (two lines or more) and paste it
into a temporary email message. Then delete the return in the
middle of it and copy it again. Then paste it into your web
browser and hit enter.)
Alcohol is a perfect solvent:
It dissolves marriages, families, and careers.
Min. Frank
Coleman, Editor
[email protected]
Thanks
for welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
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CONNECTIONS is a periodic newsletter of
announcements, news, recommendations, articles, and other
information helpful to men in our spiritual growth. Thanks for
welcoming CONNECTIONS into your in-box!
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The
CONNECTIONS Team offers a variety of activities for men to
interact with other men on our journey of faith in Christ
together. Large group, small group, and one-to-one events
encourage relationship building and spiritual strengthening that
result in maximizing the potential we all have in Christ.
Contact
Min. Frank Coleman, 773-410-1483, [email protected]
if you'd like to participate in a men's discipleship program.
Path Of Life Ministries is located at 6459 S. Campbell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60629.
Visit our website at:
http://www.pathoflifeministries.net/
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